RA FM CALLED US TO URGE TURKEY TO OPEN BORDER

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian called the United States to more active engagement in the process of establishing normal relations between Armenia and Turkey and to urge Ankara to lift Armenia’s blockade. The US is active and we would like to see Washington engaged in the issue as well”, Vartan Oskanian said after the meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In his words, the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is still on the agenda of the Armenian foreign policy. “Argentina, France, Poland and Russia are among the countries to have recognized the Armenian Genocide, however the US Administration still hesitates. Turkey in its turn should not avoid the issue before establishing relations with Armenia”, he added. According to the RA FM, the US should call upon Ankara to become a bridge not only between the East and West but also between various parts of Europe. “Armenia and Turkey are not at war. We have no problems with the country but for historical discrepancies. Germany and France also disagree on some historical facts but they do not close borders”, Vartan Oskanian stressed, RFE/RL reports.